The Phantom of Maycomb
by raccoon95
Summary: Boo Radley had always been a mystery to those in Maycomb, but maybe he is not as scary as people imagine. Boo Radley's POV. An English assignment for high school.


_"Please pa, I didn't do it. Honest. Please don't hit me, sir!"_

_My dad was approaching rapidly, belt in hand, with a look of rage on his face. Passersby stopped to watch, amused at the sight of me cowering. Nathan stood by contentedly, seeing his younger brother receive an undeserved punishment. Pa raised his belt high above his head, seeing me only as the easy prey I had always been._

_"Please pa, please listen to me..."_

_A crack, almost like a gunshot, sounded..._

I sat up in bed with a small cry. These nightmares came often, disturbing my well needed sleep. However the noise of the belt sounded almost real this time. Suddenly, the belt sounded again, but I am not sleeping. It wass a gun!

I run to my window in time to see three children, undoubtedly the same children I watch playing from time to time, running out of our yard. One of them, the eldest I think, has left his pants tangled in our fence. Nathan is standing on the porch, muttering something about thieving blacks.

I walk downstairs cautiously; Nathan may take his anger out on me. Ever since pa has gone Nathan has become my carer. I laugh quietly. Nathan doesn't care a bit about me, or what I want. To him I am a wild animal, whose only needs are to be locked up and fed once in a while. As I pass by the front door I heard Nathan speaking in his "I'm quite friendly" voice, reassuring Miss Maudie, Mr Finch and a few other neighbours that everything is just fine and the thieves are long gone. Huh! Those "thieves" are probably next door, hiding under their blankets in bed.

Suddenly I remember the boy's pants. I sneak out the back door, knowing full well that if Nathan catches me I'll be in for it. I have become, unwillingly, a phantom to Maycomb County, haunting the Radley house, and only mentioned at Halloween, not even as Arthur Radley, but as _Boo _Radley! I had wanted to teach, at one stage, but pa made sure that I would never get to do any of the things I dreamt of. I finally reach the fence and carefully pick up the tangle mess. There is a big tear in the pants, so I decide to put my handiwork skill to the test, and take them inside.

Ten long minutes later, and my hands now have more holes than the boy's pants. Who knew that a needle prick could hurt so much! I inspect my work closely, and saw that I had repaired the pants well, though not quite as good as ma could have done. The stitches are uneven and it is obvious that the repairs were made by an unconfident hand. However, it sure does beat walking around with a big hole.

Nathan was, by now, inside. I could hear him in his bedroom, rummaging around for something. The boy will probably come back for his pants later on tonight, so as to not be seen. I decide to take a risk once more. This time though, I went as swiftly as I could, realising that speed, not quietness, would get me back inside undiscovered. I placed the now folded pants over the loose plank in which they were found, and ran for the cover of the shadows, praying I had been unseen. I crept up silently to my bedroom, but not to sleep. I sat in the chair by the window and watched, hidden by the half-drawn curtains, waiting for the pants' brave owner to return.

It was two whole hours later when I finally saw some movement outside. The boy was hiding within some bushes, waiting for the right moment to grab his pants and run. He crawled, not noticing the eyes watching him from above. He looked at the bottom of the loose plank searching for his lost pants. His face showed that he was scared and confused.

"Look at the top of the fence," I whisper through the glass, knowing full well he wouldn't hear me.

Coincidently, though, the boy looked up and saw the pants. The look of confusion grew more obvious. He looked around nervously for the secret repairer. I leant back so as to go unnoticed. I only looked again when I heard a small yell. The boy had ran off again.

"Arthur! Was that you yelling? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

"I'm sorry Nathan. You see, I fell and..."

"Oh, shut up!"

I smiled. Sometimes I wonder why I'm the one treated like a hot-tempered lion. Nathan is always trying to bite someone's head off! I lie down in bed and think once more about the children next door. Maybe one day they'll realise that I am just an ordinary person, who had ordinary dreams, not a phantom, forever haunting Maycomb County.


End file.
